Effect of Vehicle Speed and Weight on Raveling of Chip Seal Constructed Using Mineral and Tire Derived Aggregate

Abstract

The characteristics of the load applied by traffic, namely, vehicle speed and load magnitude, play a critical role in the raveling performance of chip seal pavement, which is often overlooked in literature. Furthermore, a sustainable chip seal constructed out of tire derived aggregate (TDA) has been recently introduced. Unlike mineral aggregate, rubber is a time-dependent material, and its properties are greatly influenced by the magnitude and rate of loading. Introducing TDA in chip seal has increased the significance and need to investigate the effects of vehicle speed and load on chip seal. This study investigated the raveling performance of different chip seal specimens constructed out of mineral and TDA, as well as a hybrid tire derived–mineral aggregate, under various loading speeds and magnitudes using a small-wheel traffic simulation device. The findings revealed that both load and speed significantly affect the texture loss of conventional and TDA chip seals, but in opposite ways. Conventional chip seals experienced increased texture loss with higher load and speed, while TDA chip seals showed a decrease. The use of TDA as an aggregate in chip seal resulted in a 23% reduction in macrotexture loss under increased load and a 56% reduction in macrotexture loss under increased speed compared with conventional chip seal. This improved performance is attributed to the dynamic properties of TDA, such as internal hysteresis, time-dependent behavior, and load transmissibility.